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    Portable USB HDD

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by fortzum, Mar 1, 2008.

  1. fortzum

    fortzum Notebook Enthusiast

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    My father is using an IBM Thinkpad A22m
    He wants to purchase an external usb hard drive
    His ports are usb 1.0, I think.
    My question is will a portable HDD work with his laptop without the use of an external power source?

    thanks
     
    fortzum, Mar 1, 2008
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  2. HpWanter

    HpWanter Notebook Enthusiast

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    There are many portable hardrives that will work without an external power source however they are mostly smaller laptop size hardrives but if he can only use usb1 then you wont really notice a difference in speed. What size are you looking for?
     
    HpWanter, Mar 1, 2008
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  3. fortzum

    fortzum Notebook Enthusiast

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    nothing too big
    around 80gb-120gb
    it's basically to backup his pictures
     
    fortzum, Mar 1, 2008
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  4. HpWanter

    HpWanter Notebook Enthusiast

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    See this drive from WD: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=387 its 320gb though (might be too big) but it is a very stylish external drive with no external power :)

    I dont know if it will run on usb1 though - do you have an adapter?
     
    HpWanter, Mar 1, 2008
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  5. fortzum

    fortzum Notebook Enthusiast

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    you can buy adapters?
     
    fortzum, Mar 1, 2008
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  6. The_Observer

    The_Observer 9262 is the best:)

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    You can go with most 2.5" external HDD.Some bigger drives would need dual USB connections.
     
    The_Observer, Mar 1, 2008
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  7. HpWanter

    HpWanter Notebook Enthusiast

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    I don't know for sure but there might be a way to run usb2 on a usb1 computer or find an adapter that will go from firewire or something like that.

    Yeah you can pretty much even put an unused laptop hardrive in a case and it should work without external power.
     
    HpWanter, Mar 1, 2008
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  8. belmont_a

    belmont_a Notebook Enthusiast

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    I doubt old machine with single USB 1.0 port will generate enough power. My old R30 and my sister's old Toshiba NB need dual usb to power 2.5" drive. My T61 need only one to power the same drive. The safest bet is to buy hdd case with both dual usb connections and external power supply in case even dual USB doesn't work.
     
    belmont_a, Mar 2, 2008
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  9. Hackez

    Hackez Notebook Evangelist

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    I have to second belmonts opinion, if it is indeed USB 1.0. Even some USB 2.0 ports aren't enough to power a portable HD hence why most come with connectors that support dual usb connections.

    Even if it were to provide enough power, backups would be painfully slow and I couldn't honestly suggest you purchase a backup USB HD when your computer only supports 1.0...

    Do you have any other available options to backup? Such as moving the HD in his laptop to a newer computer with USB 2.0 support? Obviously this wouldn't be a permanent solution but if you could do the initial backup with all of his files under that environment and just do additional backups over time on his laptop, using USB 1.0 wouldn't be quite as painful...(This is especially true if currently he has GB's of data to backup)
     
    Hackez, Mar 2, 2008
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  10. thiru

    thiru Notebook Guru

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    What about buying a PCMCIA card for USB 2.0? Does the A22m have a PC card slot?
     
    thiru, Mar 2, 2008
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  11. myzzdeedee

    myzzdeedee Notebook Consultant

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    i like the Western Digital USB Portable Hard Drive. They have it up to 320gb right now i think. Most reliable external hard drive out there and it's extremely small and easy to use.
     
    myzzdeedee, Mar 2, 2008
    #11